Clients and suppliers braced for Dawnus collapse

Suppliers to Dawnus report difficulties getting money out of the company. Total Plant Hire boss Tommy Halligan told the Manchester Evening News that he was owed £300,000 by Dawnus and had told staff to walk off site. Abandoned machinery caused traffic chaose in the city centre.

Another plant hire firm, one of the UK’s largest, said that Dawnus had yesterday filed to appoint administrators.

Powys County Council said that three of its school projects could be delayed as a result. Dawnus Construction has contracts to build three new schools in the county. Work on one is well under way with completion scheduled for September. The other two projects are still at the planning application stage with no work yet underway.

Councillor Myfanwy Alexander said: "The county council is aware of media reports commenting on the company's financial position and is monitoring the situation closely. The council has not received any formal contact from the company. Dawnus is a key partner in a number of our school modernisations projects and we will be working to mitigate any potential issues which arise."

In its most recent accounts, for 2017, Dawnus Construction made an operating loss of £1.2m and a pre-tax loss of £1.7m on turnover down 17% to £119m. Dawnus Group lost nearly £1.4m before tax on turnover of £170m (2016: £196m). However, at that time directors insisted that the balance sheet remained strong.